That's my wagon as it was when I bought it in October 2000. It isn't in that bad of shape considering 50 years of abuse, and is currently in about 1 million pieces.
My brother found the wagon just south of Casper, WY, about 2 hours from my house. He just saw it as he drove by and saw the for sale sign on it. He pulled in and talked to the guy and got a name and number for me as he knew that I had been looking for a Willys for a long time. We followed up and called the guy who said he was planning on leaving the next day not to return until spring, we convinced him to stay another day so we could go down there and see if we wanted it.
Probably the coolest old place I have ever seen. When we got there we had no idea what the wagon looked like and planned to tow it back with a tow bar.
As soon as I laid eyes on it I knew I would be bringing it home, as it was in such good shape that there was no way I was going to let it go, plus if I was going to get a Willys I had better get it as I will have to get it rebuilt and running for school next fall.
All the windows are ruined, there were 4 different wheel types, only one being original, and a monstrous dent in the drivers side rear corner. The engine was supposed to still work, or it did when it was parked, and somebody had thought ahead and covered the carberator with tin foil to keep the water out. May save me a lot of time when I decide to tackle the engine this month.
I know very little of the history of the vehicle. It was bought in Febuary 1997 by the guys brother in St. Joseph Missiouri. It was towed to Wyoming to be used as a hunting vehicle, and was never licensed. Some time after 1998 the owner died. However he signed the title over to his brother before he died, so his brother could sell the vehicle if he wished with no problems. I then aquired the vehicle, and that's about all the history that I know.